Taiwan bans eating dog and cat meat

Taiwan is the first government in Asia to make it illegal to slaughter dogs and cats for human consumption, and has increased the amount in fines for cruelty toward animals, according to the island's Central News Agency.

Taiwan's parliament amended its Animal Protection Act on Tuesday to ban the sale, purchase or eating of cat and dog meat. Offenders face a maximum $8,300 fine, according to the Associated Press.

The bill toughened the penalty for those abusing animals, raising it from a one-year sentence to a two-year sentence, and the fine from $33,000 to $66,000, with repeat offenders facing a maximum five-year sentence or $167,000 fine, the AP reports.

The amendment came in the wake of several high-profile animal abuse cases in Taiwan. In one case, Taiwan's defense minister publicly apologized after a video surfaced that showed soldiers hanging a stray puppy and watching it struggle until it died, the China Post reports.

After a restaurant was found serving dog meat to trim costs last year, Kaohsiung became the first city in Taiwan to ban the eating of dog and cat meat, according to the China Post.